When I opened my eyes, the familiar concrete ceiling had turned into wooden planks.
Was I kidnapped?
I shot upright in bed and looked around warily, only to find myself in a Japanese-style wooden room with nothing but a futon laid directly on the floor.
The more I looked around, the more undeniable the realism became.
There was no way this was a dream.
I slowly got up from the futon and walked over to the glass to inspect my surroundings.
Outside was pitch-black, with only pale moonlight filtering through.
Through the large pane, I could see a white gravel garden stretching outward, with a bonsai tree placed within it.
This was definitely Japan.
But judging from the room's design, while the quality of the wood and the details of the decor looked modern, it still clearly preserved the essence of Japanese culture.
Come to think of it, I had been sitting in the dark for quite a while.
I reached out and flipped on the light switch.
Then I froze.
A white-haired girl with vivid red eyes was staring back at me.
Beautiful.
Wait.
That was a mirror.
If that was the case, then the figure in the mirror was my own body.
I was inside the body of a young woman.
Those crimson eyes that felt beyond human, that white hair that called eternity to mind—if those weren't contacts or dyed hair, then this appearance was no different from a vampire out of a novel.
I slowly examined my new body.
Perfect proportions. A beautiful face. Smooth, flawless pale skin.
Everything about it came together into the image of an ideal girl.
Knock. Knock.
"Excuse me, Lady Kujo."
A middle-aged man's voice came from the other side of the door. I was sure he was calling for me.
"Come in."
"Yes, my lady."
The door slid open, and a middle-aged man with blond hair and red eyes entered in a butler's uniform. He pushed in a small cart, with a wine bottle and a glass resting on top.
That alone was enough for me to understand that this body likely belonged to someone of considerable status.
I remained still, waiting for the butler's reaction, while he carefully looked my body over.
His gaze lingered on my face for a moment before moving to the light above.
"My lady, why have you turned on the light?"
Huh… why indeed?
I looked deeper into those red eyes, devoid of human warmth, and then I understood.
Could it be that I… was a vampire?
I answered on instinct.
"Good evening. I just wanted to try imitating humans for once. I didn't think it would be this convenient."
"I see, my lady."
The middle-aged man showed no particular reaction. He calmly poured a red liquid into a glass.
"This is high-quality blood from our human farm, my lady. It's from a new batch, so I was hoping you would test it for us."
Human blood? A human farm?
I started to wonder whether this was illegal, but then again, if this was a society of vampires, the laws I knew might not mean anything here.
The man set the tray down in front of me. On it sat a glass filled with a dark crimson liquid.
I hesitated for a moment, but when I looked up and met his eyes again, that hesitation vanished.
I raised the glass and took a small sip.
Sweet.
Since when did blood taste this good?
The faint guilt that had urged me to stop drinking earlier was gone. Instead, I felt strangely at ease.
I slowly drank it all, then placed the glass back where it had been. The middle-aged man, who had been watching the whole time, picked it up, set it back on the cart, and wheeled it out of the room. A short while later, he returned empty-handed.
"My lady, what are your plans for today?"
"Uh… I think I'll go for a walk around the estate."
"Very well. In that case, I shall have your clothes and bath prepared. Also, may I ask that you return to the mansion before four in the morning?"
I guessed it was because vampires were weak to sunlight. That was probably why he was being so strict about the time.
"All right…"
"Then please excuse me."
The middle-aged man gave a small bow and left the room.
"Haa…"
I let out another sigh, then suddenly realized something.
Where exactly was I supposed to bathe?
And what was I supposed to bring?
I had never had any experience living as a woman before.
If I acted too differently from the original owner of this body, that butler might notice. And in the end, I might be marked as suspicious… or worse, killed.
Should I just confess the truth?
I shook my head.
No chance.
If this body's parents learned that someone else had possessed the body of the daughter they loved and treasured, there was no way they would let me live freely.
At best, I would be put under confinement.
At worst, I might be locked away until someone found a way to drive me out of this body.
I shook my head again.
There were no communication devices here, so for now I had no choice but to rely on my own mind.
If I was going to live in a woman's body, then I supposed I had to start with things like this.
1
I made it to the bath with the help of one of the maids working in the mansion, and they all looked like ordinary humans.
Even so, they showed not the slightest fear of vampires, as if they had long since grown used to all of this.
Still, I wasn't sure how well the existence of vampires in this mansion was being hidden.
"My lady, I heard from Sebastian that you've recently taken an interest in brightness, so I brought in a spotlight and also replaced the paintings on the wall. I hope it pleases you."
I thought it looked nice enough.
But had they really arranged all of this in just one hour?
"Thank you…"
"It is my pleasure, my lady."
Once the maid left, I turned my attention back to the bath.
I carefully removed my clothes, then slowly stepped into the bath.
This feels nice.
Before long, music began to drift softly through the room—a gentle Japanese melody that made the atmosphere strangely calming. In that moment, my attention was drawn more to the music than to anything else.
I bathed as usual for a while, then stepped out, dried myself, and changed into a simple black dress.
When I looked at myself in the mirror again, I found that my face and hair still looked perfectly in place.
After that, I left the dressing room.
Normally, if I were still in my original body, I would have been hurrying into a car on my way to university by now.
But in this body, I found myself simply walking without any particular destination, with no need to rush for anything at all.
If this really was a vampire, then maybe this body was already over a hundred years old.
Once I thought that, I started wondering what vampires normally did for work. How could they maintain a place in the modern world without causing trouble, while still preserving wealth on this scale?
And when I thought back to the human farm Sebastian had mentioned earlier, I became even more certain.
If this family truly operated something on that level, then they must possess some independent organization or authority powerful enough to conceal their existence.
Or else they had enough power that even the law couldn't touch them.
2
There was something I was wondering about.
If vampires truly existed, then the world I had ended up in might not be the same universe I came from.
That was why I headed to the mansion's library, hoping to find an answer to that question.
The mansion library was about as large as a university library. The only real difference was the atmosphere—it was much quieter, much colder.
The librarian inside greeted me at once.
"Good evening, Lady Kujo. Are you looking for a particular book?"
"I'd like a history book—something that can explain the overall state of this world in a single volume. And also…"
"And also what, my lady?"
"Do you have any books about magic?"
The librarian paused for a moment, then tilted her head slightly.
"My lady, do you mean books on how to use jujutsu?"
Jujutsu?
So that was what this world called the thing I had thought of as magic?
Whatever the case, at least I had my answer now. This world really did contain something supernatural of that sort.
I gave a small nod.
"Please have a seat for a moment, my lady. I'll bring them to you right away."
"Mm… I'm counting on you."